The Goa government has announced the Goa Electric Mobility Promotion Policy 2021, with the goal of increasing EV usage to 30% by 2025. The EV policy, which intends to promote the adoption of electric vehicles and the installation of charging stations, will be in effect for the next five years. By 2025, the policy hopes to have created 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in the sector.
The policy’s major goal, according to Goa’s chief minister, Pramod Sawant, is to promote the use of battery-powered vehicles in the state. The state’s first EV policy provides incentives for electric vehicles with two, three, and four wheels. The government is also pushing for the conversion of all commercial two-wheelers in Goa to electric by December.
How much incentives are given?
The state of Goa provides a 30% subsidy for two-wheelers and a 40% subsidy for three-wheelers. A subsidy of up to Rs 3 lakhs would be given to four-wheelers. Around 400 vehicles will be served on a first-come, first-served basis.
All maritime vehicles will be converted from diesel to hybrid solar and electric vehicles under the policy. It also plans to build a charging station in the state for 100 electric buses. In addition, every 3 kilometers in the city and every 25 kilometers on the highway, the Goa government would build a charging station.
In addition, the Goa policy would provide capital subsidies on electricity ranging from 20% to 50% for the deployment of charging stations in the state. A megaproject will receive a 20% subsidy, a small project will receive 30%, and a startup will receive 50%.
The EV policy states that “to ensure the switch happens in a time-bound manner, all two-wheelers involved in commercial activity operating shall switch to complete electric by December 31, 2025. All two-wheelers sold in the state after December 31, 2030, must be 100 percent electric. Existing registered ICE vehicles, on the other hand, will be allowed to continue to operate until they reach the end of their service life.”
Sohinder Gill, director general, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), said, “The recommendations and views shared by government representatives are encouraging, which will further strengthen the industry’s confidence. We also applaud Goa’s EV policy, which sets a clear aim of converting all ICE two-wheelers to electric by 2030.”
“However, we feel that limiting the subsidy to only 3,150 electric vehicles will not be sufficient to accelerate the adoption. The state that has over a million ICE vehicles on the road may need to relook at the numbers to be supported under the scheme so that more citizens can avail the benefit and shift to electric.”
Source: electricvehicles.in
